The next five weeks will be do-or-die for Sen. Max Baucus' (D-Mont.) goal of getting a health reform bill on President Obama's desk by August. As the Senate debate intensifies over the details of health reform, it's important to remember that the health care industry is doing much more than watching from the sidelines.
Major hospital and physician groups are spending more than $1.4 million a day on a small army of more than 350 lobbyists - many of whom are former members of Congress or Congressional staffers - to ensure their interests are represented as a reform bill is being shaped, The Washington Post reports.
The players are familiar and include the AMA, which alone spent $3.5 million on lobbyists from January to March of 2009. Other big spenders include Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) and major biotech firms like Amgen and Genentech.
To quote The Post article, "the aim of the lobbying blitz is simple: to minimize the damage to insurers, hospitals and other major sectors while maximizing the potential of up to 46 million uninsured Americans as new customers."
It looks like when the going gets serious, the serious players start doling out dough - big time.